Buyer’s Guide for Sales & Operations Planning Software

This guide addresses how the right enabling technology helps you improve margins and get more "Aha" moments during S&OP meetings.
By AIMMS

May 1, 2018

Sales and Operations Planning Process

There's no doubt that if you aren't running a well-oiled Sales & Operations Planning process with the added benefit of sophisticated supply chain analytics & optimization - you are leaving major revenue and margin opportunities on the table.

Sales and Operations Planning has become a standard process to improve business performance, collaboration, and predictability.

In fact, it's become internalized to a degree that companies often have several (competing) S&OP processes in different geographies & business units.

Why is it that despite its popularity, most companies struggle with S&OP?

Common causes for this include poor change and process management, misalignment in terms of business strategy, mismatched metrics across the business, dysfunctional technology and lack of expertise to operate and implement the technology.

Perhaps the reason that S&OP has so many false starts is that without powerful analytics that provide exciting insights - the S&OP process can be too tactical, too data input hungry and a lowlight on stakeholders' monthly calendars.

This Guide will address the technology aspect, offering insight into where commonly used technologies fall short, and what you should look for in supportive technologies to get more value from S&OP using analytics.

Who is this Buyer's Guide for Sales & Operations Planning Software for?

You will find this guide useful if you:

Have an existing appreciation for the S&OP process

Have overextended the use of spreadsheets in your organization

Feel like you're spending too much time on gathering and structuring data

Have a distaste for drawn-out and tedious system implementations

Would like to learn how prescriptive analytics can help you make your S&OP meetings more insightful and fun

"With AIMMS SC Navigator, we can make use of supply chain Apps that would not be possible for us to buy because of the software & implementation costs." Narcis Vidal, Supply Chain Director at Elix Polymers